DIY: Full Flush for Automatic Transmission

+1 I don't know what the heck that was.

 

Thank you! I had no idea what bolt was what on the bottom of the trans. I need to check fluid level.

 

I've been having a great deal of trouble with my '06 4.0L 4x4 lately. I've been experiencing a lot of the same symptoms as others have described as driving over a rumble strip. The problem is, those folks only had a few thousand miles & I have over 149K. Until the past couple weeks, everything's been fine. Then all of a sudden things started getting bad.

It happened with increasing frequency when driving between 20-30mph in "D" under light acceleration. Lightly tapping the brake made it go away.

At first, I thought it was fuel/air related. I cleaned my K&N air filter, MAF sensor & throttle body. My idle settled down, but the rumble strip was still there.

Then I though it must worn u-joints and/or center bearing. So I changed those. The rumble strip was still there.

Then I started reading about changing that transmission fluid I was never supposed to worry about (unless I towed all the time or ran my truck in Baja races).

Last weekend I did a 'change" - just replacing the 3 quarts from the pan with what I thought was the correct Amsoil alternative to Toyota WS. It was not. However, I immediately noticed an improvement & the rumble strip stopped happening as frequently - even under conditions that almost guaranteed it before.

A few days ago, I ordered a case of the correct type of Amsoil ATF & just did a complete flush following Mountain Lion's guide. It's a little early to tell, but I even got up the slight incline I've been using to demonstrate the rumble strip to my neighbor and local automotive expert without so much as a hitch.

Hopefully, replacing that near-black ATF did the trick. Now on to diagnosing & fixing that bearing whine coming from the driver's side front.

 

Glad to hear it seems to have remedied the problem. I bet that was frustrating trying to figure out. I'm at 106k with smooth shifting and just want to do this for peace of mind...
How did the complete drain and fill go for you with the 4x4? Were the directions still straight forward even though OP was demonstrating on a 4x2 without tow package? I've never been too afraid to work on my truck but something about messing with the tranny scares me a bit

 

I really had no problems. I made a mess that could have been avoided if I had not been trying to rush to beat sunset, but otherwise the OP instructions were spot on. I do not have the tow package, just the hitch. I am considering adding the tranny cooler at some soon, however.

Only thing I forgot to mention in my initial post was re: volume of old fluid. It did not appear to be low....just badly in need of replacement.

 

Same here, not a bad job at all. I made a few messes because I rushed a little too. I added a B&m Trans cooler while I was at it. Check my build thread for that.

 

So one of the pictures in the OP is kind of confusing to me. I am talking about the picture where he is pointing to the oil cooler inlet and outlet at the front of the truck where you disconnect the outlet tube (at the red arrow). It's the tenth picture

As far as I can tell, this picture is looking towards the driver side. But in the wording, you are supposed to disconnect the passenger side outlet tube (which would be the closest one to you in this pic). Anybody care to confirm this? I'm gonna try to get this done tonight and just want to be 100% sure I know what I'm doing

 

It looks like from looking in front of the truck it would be the hose closest to the passenger side frame, I think one of the red arrows are pointing to the clamp where you need to remove it at. I have not changed mine yet.... so maybe someone else can let you know for sure.

 

So, just did this tonight and am still fairly certain that the arrows in the tenth picture should be mirrored. You can see the far tubes turn up to the radiator meaning they are the drivers side.

But following OP's explanation was perfect and made this very easy to do. Only trouble I had was with my cheap ass hand pump. But I ended up draining a little less than 12 quarts and replaced with all 12 quarts that I had. After the level check though only a couple drops came out so I'm assuming it was low when I started. Took it for a drive and it shifted very smoothly so I'm just gonna grab another quart tomorrow and redo the level check.

 

Did mine today. It's an 07 2.7 with the 4 speed trans. The lines are different from the OP's pics, but the return comes from the same place, the lower line coming out of the radiator, so that part of the procedure is the same. It's easier with mine because it has a dipstick, so filling the trans is just a matter of pouring the fluid into a funnel in the dipstick tube.

I did note that the Haynes manual says that the torque figure for the drain plug is 15 ft-lbs or 20 Nm. That's different from the figure the OP gives.

 

Do you have the overflow plug or the A/T temp light? I have a 09 2.7 and dont see either of those features on my truck. I would figure a drain and refill three times of the precise amount at room temperature would work. I'm not too fond of screwing with the coolant lines to "flush" the stuff out. I also noticed that the dip stick says that there is no need to change fluid under normal conditions.

 

No overflow plug nor temp light. The overflow plug isn't needed because the trans has a dipstick. The owner's manual says that only 4wd trucks have the temp light.

There doesn't seem to be a service requirement for the 2.7 trans, although a Toyota service advisor told me that it should be done at 100K. The fluid that came out of my truck at 73K looked pretty good, but it wasn't the nice clean cherry red of the new stuff that went in. As I plan to do some towing, I feel that having fresh fluid in the trans is a good idea. I also added a trans cooler, which the truck didn't have.

You could certainly do 3 drain and fills in a row, running the engine and shifting through the gears between each one and that would get rid of a lot of the old fluid, but it wouldn't do as thorough a job as a flush. The flush is easy and doesn't take any more time than it would to do a series of drain and fills, so I'd encourage you to do that. With the 2.7, you don't have to screw around with setting the level with an overflow plug at just the right temperature because you have a dipstick to check it with. It's easy; go for it!

 

I bought 4 gallons of Valvoline MaxLife ATF to do a flush, but now I am having second thoughts. My truck just turned over 90,000 miles so I was prepared to do the flush, truck is 9years old too.

I am having second thought because I have a warranty on the truck until 126,000 miles. The trans is shifting fine, just feel like regular maintenance is the key to longevity. When I rolled under there yesterday I noticed the fill bolt has some sort of tamper proof on it, so I guess the stealership would know someone opened it up, which adds to my hesitation. Any advice?

 

I guess I am just over thinking it, I'll check with the dealership just to make sure

 

I completely agree. All my previous vehicles have been done between 45 and 60,000 intervals. I have read through the maintenance manual, and I am still dumb founded by the fact the it doesn't say anywhere to replace the trans fluid. During regular driving it only says to check it.

 

If you do not have a transmission cooler on your truck and you plan to tow or haul heavy loads or you are in heavy stop and go traffic , consider purchasing a cooler . The cooler thats built into your rad is designed to cool the transmission with the weight of just the truck by itself .
160 - 200 are considered normal temps providing your engine radiator is functioning properly . If your engine overheats , your transmission will also overheat
Normal fluid temperature in transmission to be 175 deg. F.

Rate of oxidation to double for each temperature increase of 20 deg F above normal (175 deg F). As oxidation rate doubles, useful life of fluid is cut in half.

At 175 deg F life is 100,000 miles
At 195 deg F (20 deg above 175) life is 50k miles
At 215 life is 25k miles
At 235 life is 12k
At 255 life is 6,250
At 275 life is 3,000
At 295 life is 1500
At 315 life is 750

At temperatures much above 300 deg F the metals in the transmission will tend to warp, twist etc. high temperatures causes the formation of varnish deposits which impair or pre vent transmission operation.

At a fluid temperature of 415 deg F fluid life is 30 minutes!

Source: Empire Lubricants Inc.

 

Finally went ahead and did the Tranny fluid flush at 142k miles and everything went smooth and according to this DIY except at the end when putting the Truck in AT temperature mode. After the sixth shift to "D" the AT light came on and stayed On constantly, IS THIS NORMAL? ANYBODY? I checked the fluid and just a little came out. I was just wondering if anybody got the same results for a 2005 prerunner ? truck seems to be running okay/normal, but than it was running normal before I did this flush and the original fluid that came out was still red and did not smell burned. (I don't offroad or pull anything heavy) The outside temperature was about 75-80 F.

 

I finally did this about two weeks ago at 60,710 miles on the odo. Thanks to "mountain lion" and everyone else who posted with great info and tips.

I replaced the fluid with Valvoline Max Life. I got it for $15.99/gallon at one particular AutoZone near me. All other AutoZones around me wanted $23.99/gallon and Walmart was at $16.99. Lucky score! I flushed a total of about 14.5 quarts and ended up adding about 16-16.5 quarts (tranny was low from factory, but I've read that it's a common issue with these trucks). When I initially drained the pan 2.5 quarts came out, and when I completely dropped the pan to clean the magnets and fluid strainer I got another 1.5 quarts for a total of 4.0. In all honesty, the used fluid I drained looked and smelled just as new as the fresh fluid. I don't tow, I rarely wheel, and I have the tow package with ATF cooler, so I'm sure these factors all kept the original fluid in great shape.

In addition to the fluid, the only new parts I installed were the o-ring on the mouth of the fluid strainer and the pan gasket (roughly $2.50 and $22.00, respectively, from the dealer).

The truck still drives fine, and it feels as though down shifts are slightly less abrupt and smoother than before the flush. I'm sure having the correct level of fluid helps!

Even though my truck may have not required a flush just yet, having the peace of mind is priceless. Thanks again for the helpful, TacomaWorld!

 

IMO, You probably didn't need to change it just yet. I changed mine at 140k plus thousand miles and the old fluid came out still red and didn't smell burned at all. Well at least I'm good for another 140k miles so next time I plan to change it at 300k miles if I still own the Truck.

 

I have 52K on my 2012 Double Cab 4X4 Offroad Tacoma with transmission cooler. I am wanting to put amsoil in it but I am concerned about the screen. Do I need to drop the pan and do anything with it? I had a transmission go out on my Xterra after 120K because I took it to the dealer at around 90K and the did a flush. I am a little nervous now but I will be doing it myself. Any advice on the screen. how many quarts of the Amsoil do I get 14?


Thanks in advance guys